The Tennessee Titans have struggled at the quarterback position greatly in recent history, but appear to be headed in the right direction after signing Ryan Tannehill to a four-year, $118 million extension.
But just as the team has gone through several starters who didn’t pan out, they’ve also gone through some backups who have failed to deliver in important games.
For now, the Titans have Logan Woodside and newly drafted Cole McDonald to work with behind Tannehill.
Here’s a closer look into the latter.
Pros
McDonald does a good job looking off safeties, and his quick release almost makes up for some issues with his throwing motion.
In terms of zip on the ball, McDonald has shown some flashes of arm strength and dropped some absolute dimes with the Rainbow Warriors.
His overall athleticism, speed, competitive spirit and willingness to take a hit when he takes off with the ball are a big part of what’s made him an appealing prospect.
Cons
As he’s mentioned himself, McDonald’s throwing motion could use some improvement. His delivery has gotten better over time, but he still has an elongated motion that he could help himself by shortening.
However, this is something McDonald is working on and he recently explained the process of how he’s improving it to John Glennon of the Athletic.
“In terms of me and what I’m working on, obviously my throwing motion is the biggest thing,” McDonald said “I’m learning just to create muscle memory, shortening my motion, which is ultimately going to result in more accurate, more efficient throws and a tighter release.”
McDonald’s consistency improved some in 2019, but that, his timing issues and anticipation could all be better, particularly when the heat is coming down on him.
Biggest strength: Physical traits
At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, McDonald has an NFL-ready frame. There are some tweaks he needs to make as a passer, but the physical gifts he has are reminiscent of Marcus Mariota, who spent some time working with McDonald.
Craig Stutzmann, McDonald’s quarterbacks coach at Hawaii, drew some comparisons between the two in a report from AtoZ Sports Nashville’s Luke Worsham.
“There are similar physical attributes between Marcus and Cole, so being able to get in contact with Marcus and say, ‘hey, I know, going through college and high school, there were issues that you dealt with in terms of physical things. I’ve got a guy like that over here in Hawaii who needs to work on similar things,’” Stuzmann said.
McDonald ran a 4.58-second 40-yard dash at the combine and brings a skill set to the table that his competition for the backup job doesn’t.
Biggest weakness: Decision-making
For as talented as McDonald is physically, he does make some baffling decisions at times.
McDonald was benched twice in his senior season for decision-making, and could absolutely be eaten up by NFL secondaries if he doesn’t get better in this area.
Bottom Line
McDonald is every bit a developmental prospect, but has shown some flashes and has the traits to become something special. The risk factor here is low, but he’s going to be a project for a large chunk of time.
He also faces a bit of a learning curve, transitioning from Hawaii’s run-and-shoot offense that has quarterbacks reading defenses differently than asked to at the NFL level.
Only time will tell how high McDonald’s ceiling is, but he should be able to be a serviceable backup regardless.
